


Exorcise Me

by Yacer_Sho



Category: Original Work
Genre: 1990s, Adopted Children, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Body Worship, Children of Characters, Church Sex, Delinquents, Demon Blood, Demon Sex, Demon Summoning, Demon/Human Relationships, Dom/sub, Domestic Fluff, Dominance, F/F, Father-Daughter Relationship, Father-Son Relationship, Friendship, Gay Sex, Interspecies Relationship(s), Jealousy, Lesbian Sex, Long-Term Relationship(s), M/M, Mild S&M, Priests, Rough Sex, Semi-Public Sex, overprotective father figure, tease
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-09
Updated: 2019-11-24
Packaged: 2020-11-28 04:27:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20960459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yacer_Sho/pseuds/Yacer_Sho
Summary: Born from a mother neither of them knew, Joshua and Erise Yesate were raised by the Priests and Nuns of Church Kinsburg, located in a small town way out in the country. The two fraternal twins come in contact with something otherworldly and evil that could cost them their humanity; demons. Felith, a succubus and very powerful she-demon, gains a connection towards Erise. As for Joshua, he has Samael, better known as Satan himself.





	1. Pride

"What say you, that a boy such as yourself is given... honor in this church?" Father Roderick asked, who is a thirty-seven year old priest.

His eyes lidded downwards, lips pursed together. His voice was firm, though you could tell he was trying to keep his voice down. The walls of the church created echoes, and the echoes reached the heavens where God resided.

The large cross, hanging high above Father Rodrick depicted Jesus Christ being nailed to it, his crown of thorns symbolizing sin, sorrow, and hardship by piercing into his skull and causing eerily detailed trails of wooden blood by trickling down the side of his head and meeting with his hair.

The beautiful and intricately done stained glass windows surrounding the church depicted scenes of the Bible in all its glory. This place was a sanctuary, and for the children, it was home.

Father Roderick believed that whatever was spoken inside these holy walls was heard by any, and if he were to be brash with the children, he knew that he would be punished. He folded his hands over one another, his chest rising up and down beneath his black cassock, given only to the priests of a church. He was fairly disappointed with what had happened to say the least.

"Lord help them." he thought.

Rain pelted against the window on an early Saturday morning in the town of Kinsburg, the year 1965.

Kinsburg is a little mining and lumber town somewhere up in the snowy hills of California, where no matter where you went, there was a forest.

Tall and brooding pines reigned over this town, for wherever you went, there were little patches of them scattered about. Buildings and homes were surrounded by their own little forest, and to the siblings, they saw these pines as their own little wonderland, their curiosity getting the better of them and always sneaking off to investigate.

The five-year-old boy, significantly much shorter than the priest due to their age difference, ran his pale hand through his unruly red hair and grinned, his missing front tooth very noticeable.

His outfit, a red plaid shirt, and plain blue jeans, along with sneakers, was torn and tattered from playing in the woods, and by the looks of it, there was a scrape on his knee from a fairly bad fall. Water dripped from his red hair, and although not fully wet, his outfit was damp and stuck to his body.

He wasn't phased by it, but Father Roderick's eyes continually stared at the wound. It would have to be cleaned and bandaged by one of the Nuns.

Blood was still sticking to the wound, and by the looks of it, there was mud seeping into it as well, most likely going to cause infection.

Other than that, his hand was confidently on his hip as if he did nothing wrong.

His sister, the fraternal twin, was at his side, holding onto his arm with the frailty of a saint. Father Roderick was never biased with the two orphans, he loved them both equally as if they were his own children, given to him by God himself on that cold, Winter night.

However, he always liked the girl better as she was always so bashful and paid respects to her elders.

Her pretty, purple dress was covered in dirt and mud as well, her eyes trained on the floor in fear of getting scolded.

Upon further inspection, one of her black children's pumps was missing, and beneath it, her white sock was no longer white, but instead covered in light brown mud.

She was shivering, the poor thing, and being covered in mud didn't help either.

Occasionally, she would uncomfortably pull twigs and leaves still in her shoulder-length black hair from their adventure out in the rain.

The remnants of the forest were littered onto the carpeted floor of the church, her little arm trying its best to get out the debris.

As he looked closer, he noticed that her round eyeglasses had a small crack in them, and tried as she might, weren't clean.

Both her's and Joshua's eyes were a beautiful emerald green, which Father Roderick found himself getting lost in at times.

The boy finally answered Father Roderick's question with another question, his head tilted to the side as if he didn't do anything wrong.

"What do you mean, sir?"

Father Roderick audibly sighed and scratched the bridge of his nose with his thumb, trying to keep himself from getting angry, but the boy was trying his patience.

He hissed in a breath, tapping his shoe against the tan carpet of the church. A sudden flash of lightning appeared in the window, followed by the clap of thunder.

The little girl pressed herself closer to her brother, her glasses slightly falling off her nose. "Joshua..." The priest dragged out, his neck craning back, his eyes trained on the triangular ceiling.

"So help me God I don't throw you back out in the rain." He grumbled, looking back down at him.

Joshua's smile quickly turned to a worried frown, and his hand came off his hip with a sudden urgency that meant he was afraid of his punishment.

"Why don't I ask you this in a more simple fashion, hm?"

The boy nodded in reply.

"Alright, Joshua," He starts, kneeling down to their height, trying to be as sincere as possible.

Another lightning strike lights up the empty church, and the little girl looks over in fear.

The stained glass windows were unaffected by the light, only the very top light that overlooked the sky; a triangle shaped window that showcased the storm in all its glory.

Father Roderick frowns and caresses her hair to get her to calm down, and he nods.

"Erise," he whispers slowly, reassuringly, "There is nothing to be afraid of. That is only God's creation, the weather reflects on how he feels. He will never hurt you."

Erise sniffles, her lip quivers, but she can't help but smile. "Yes, Father."

The priest nods and looks over at Joshua again, his left hand on Erise's shoulder and his right hand on Joshua's shoulder.

"Now then, Joshua, I want you to understand that once you turn twenty-five, I will step down and you will become the new priest of Church Kinsburg."

Joshua nodded, but by the looks of it, he wasn't really paying attention, most likely due to the stinging sensation on his leg, or the fact he was a stubborn boy.

"That means you must behave yourself and learn the teachings of God and his might, all while becoming a growing boy. This also means you have to care for your sister.Taking her off into the woods for your antics is not proper behavior. It's safe to say that you're a bad influence, even if you don't know any better. What would the townspeople think?" Father Roderick continued his lecture, his voice firm, and never rising.

Children listen to you more when you are kind, he figured, but sometimes that was only the half truth.

Sometimes he wondered if he was being too soft and friendly with them, but he didn't want them to be afraid. Joshua nodded and evaded Father Roderick's gaze by staring down at the floor.

"I know, and I'm sorry. But we had a good reason to go into the woods, honest." He tried, looking back up.

"Lying is a sin, Joshua-"

"It's not a lie!" Erise exclaimed suddenly, her tiny voice echoing on the white, pristine walls of the church.

She tightened her grip on Joshua's arm from her sudden outburst, but she had to do it. She had to tell the priest that their reason for being out in the rain was justifiable.

"Oh? And what prompted it? What was so important that it caused the two of you to go out in the rain and soil your clothes?"

Father Roderick rose to his feet, his back straight as if he was a god himself, his green eyes and graying hair shielded themselves in a sudden shadow which was cast from the rain.

"If you come with us, we can show you!" Joshua tried, holding his sister tighter.

Father Roderick thought for a moment, his suspicions fairly noticeable, even by the five-year-olds.

"Fine. But first, we need to clean you two up and give you a nice hot meal... or is this so important that I have to see it now?" He entertained, a small smile tugging at his lips.

The two siblings looked at each other for a moment, as if asking themselves which was more important.

Joshua and Pidge giggled amongst themselves as they whispered, and Father Roderick couldn't help but feel like they were hiding a secret, although he wasn't quite sure how important it was.

"Alright, you can bathe and eat first, then the three of us can go into the woods. But, if it is something unimportant and wastes my time, the two of you go to bed without supper. Do I make myself perfectly clear?" Joshua grins again, almost straightforwardly telling the truth that something is out there, but he had no real idea of how to put his explanation into words.

"Don't worry, Father Roderick. We would never lie to you."

* * *

It was a long and grueling process to thoroughly disinfect and sanitize Joshua's wound as it was very deep and painful, especially with the dried mud being a hassle to flush out.

Erise was in the bathtub for now, playing with bubbles and a rubber ducky while Joshua's wound was being cared for on a chair near the sink.

Sister Elizabeth, a twenty-nine-year-old Nun who is practically their guardian and mother, takes care of the two children and is their tutor for teaching them the bible and home-school.

Clean water dripped from Joshua's red hair after his bath, and a white, fluffy towel was around his waist to keep himself decent while Sister Elizabeth tended to his wound as best as she could using the first aid kit.

Erise was talking to the rubber ducky in the bathtub, the water continually making splashing noises as she made the duck swim in the warm water, which was going to become cold sooner or later.

Sister Elizabeth was humming an old tune she knew as she worked, her lovely voice providing comfort in the painful process Joshua had to go through. He tried to hold in a sob as he felt the sting of the alcohol pressing into the exposed flesh, his leg jerking back in recoil from the pain.

"That's enough!" He exclaimed, using his hand to cover up the wound as she pulled out a medical instrument, one that was better suited to open wounds, not close them.

"Oh shush, Joshua. There's still some mud inside the wound that could get infected. Don't worry, it will be over in less than a minute." Sister Elizabeth scolded.

Erise looked over at her brother, her black hair washed as well, and winced as the medical instrument was scraping across dried mud still attached to the skin.

Joshua held back tears as Sister Elizabeth continued, her skinny hand creating brush strokes across his flesh as if she was painting.

Blood started to form around the newly created cuts, but all it was doing was creating a mess. As quickly as it started, it ended and Joshua let out a sigh of relief.

She used some shears to snip the gauze bandage after making the final touches, and as she wrapped the roll of bandage around his leg, Erise spoke up. "Why do people get hurt?"

Sister Elizabeth chuckled and craned her neck to look at Erise for a brief moment before getting back to work.

"Why do you think we do?" Sister Elizabeth finished wrapping the gauze and gave Joshua a kiss on the head before getting up and letting Erise out of the tub.

"Well," Erise started, watching Sister Elizabeth pull the plug on the drain and helping her out of the tub before immediately wrapping the little girl in a towel, "People get hurt because if we protect ourselves from everything, then we wouldn't be strong, right?"

The Nun thought to herself for a moment while helping Erise dry off, her head tilting to the side as if to think. "I suppose. Although I'm not entirely sure why you brought this up."

Joshua had been testing his leg by walking on it carefully and slowly, and had a noticeable limp whenever he brought the weight down upon it.

"It's cause people can't have good things." The red-haired boy grumbled, rubbing the bandages and looking over at the Nun and his sister.

Erise giggled as Sister Elizabeth started tying her short hair into the towel to dry.

"No," Elizabeth replied dryly, turning on her heels and narrowing her eyes, "It's because stubborn little boys like you don't look where they're going and blame their actions on some otherworldly force."

The little boy had quickly shut up and crossed his arms across his bare chest in an angry huff, and his newly washed hair continued to drip onto the floor.

Erise stood there, wrapped up in the soft towels and looked up at Sister Elizabeth, her twinkly green eyes full of pure innocence.

"What if the otherworldly force did want to hurt someone?" She tried to say the long word, her mouth very poorly forming some kind of sentence.

Sister Elizabeth sighed audibly through her nose, her usually calm and motherly demeanor turning serious in an instant.

"Then that would a dark force, one that children and adults alike should never, ever come into contact with."

* * *

Once Joshua and Erise were dressed and fed, Father Roderick took the two children into the woods once the rain let up.

As they walked, the leaves crunched under their feet and the birds chirped in the trees in a peaceful setting, and the sun beat down upon them as the clouds finally parted against the slowly setting sky.

An umbrella handle was held firmly in the priest's fist in case the rain was to start up again; but from how sunny it was now, there was a very low chance of another storm.

Mud left behind from evaporating puddles started dirtying their shoes, but they could always wash them once they get back.

Joshua and Erise were at the front, the two siblings laughing and pushing each other as they ran to show Father Roderick what they promised somewhere deep in the forest.

"Children, I need you to slow down for me." He chuckled, limping along on the trails.

Coughing, the elder leaned against a tree using his hand and felt his chest rise and fall very prominently beneath his black, tight clothes.

At his sudden sickly demeanor, Erise turned on her heels and sprinted over to him.

Her white lace dress swayed as she ran, the fabric creating a sort of flowing movement to make her seem like a ghost.

Although small, Erise intertwined her hand with Father Roderick's in order to steady his movements, even though she wasn't able to help him much.

"Oh, thank you so much, my little one." He said, looking down at her with a relieved smile. Erise returned it, then exclaimed, "You're welcome!" And allowed Father Roderick to find Joshua.

"Hey Joshua," the priest called as he and Erise started walking side by side, "Even with a sore leg you're still as energetic as ever, aren't you?"

With his fiery red hair and piercing green eyes, Joshua was better suited for a gremlin in human form compared to his sister.

He winced and brought his weight off his injured leg, cursing the priest for reminding him of it. During their entire trek through the woods, Joshua had almost completely forgotten about his injury, albeit for a stinging sensation every time he ran.

Ignoring his adoptive parent, Joshua went off the trail once he noticed a black shoe sticking out of a puddle, the mud almost entirely filling the inside.

It belonged to Erise, and she lost it when they were running back to the church.

His slowly came to a stop as he stared at it almost solemnly, and a foreboding feeling ached in his chest as he looked ahead.

His chest begun tightening, his eyes; watering. This was where the two children watched something awful through the trees, keeping their voices down in fear, and running once things got out of hand.

"Joshua, don't run off now, you hear?" Father Roderick's voice caused a few birds to fly away in fear.

"I-I know." He wiped a few falling tears and turning away from the sight, beckoning the priest and his sister with a wave of his hand.

Erise instinctively squeezed Father Roderick's hand tighter and looked away, her feet dragging along as she walked.

She didn't want to go anywhere near here and being so timid as she is, it left a scar in her mind knowing that she and her brother would have to live with that memory forever.

Father Roderick both noticed how much the children's personality changed, his eyes narrowing in confusion as the siblings held each other. "What's troubling the two of you so-"

Laid out before the priest, the man who was closer to God than any human being, was a fairly large pentagram created from rocks in the middle of the field. Although covered with mud, the star in the center was still visible and very well made by the cultists. But, there was a smell lingering, one that brought disgust to their faces.

The mangled and disfigured dead body of an animal was hanging on a pike, its entrails wrapped around the piece of wood in a ritual-like fashion.

The eyes were gouged out and its mouth was open in pain and terror, the poor thing.

By the looks of it, the animal was still alive before finally dying from blood loss. It was a male deer, he finally realized, bile rising in the back of his throat. It was an offering to the demon by the cultists.

Father Roderick picked up Erise's shoe, the sole falling off from contact with rain and mud.

The adult was furious, his green eyes widened in shock and anger.

He didn't even want to go near the pentagram, but he must perform an exorcism on this forest in case of any demons reaching this mortal plane.

Throwing the shoe to the dirty floor, he clenched his fists and exclaimed, "Did they see you?"

Joshua winced at his sudden outburst and shook his head. "N-No, we don't think so. We hid behind the trees as we watched."

Father Roderick was worried and afraid that the children had fallen victim to a possession.

He always knew that if you could see and hear a ritual being performed, you were in danger of being a vessel to a demon.

"Did you hear them speak the words of the devil?"

"No, sir. The rain was too loud." He pressed on, asking poor Joshua questions about the ritual, and each and every time Joshua tried to answer truthfully.

"How many were there?" Father Roderick's eyebrows furrowed together in pure and utter rage.

"There were people in dark robes standing on all five points of the star." Joshua said, making absolutely certain he stared Father Roderick in the eyes.

"So there were five? Could you see their face? Do you think the cultists are still around?"

Joshua stayed silent at the question, and made eye contact with the animal. Father Rodrick promptly shielded the offering by getting not only Joshua's attention, but Erise's as well.

Throughout it all, Erise was staring at the pentagram in the dirt with a look of uncertainty in her eyes. The demons which were conjured in that pentagram were still roaming around, she could feel it.

"Joshua, answer me! Right at this very moment!"

The girl tugged on Father Rodrick's pant-leg to calm him down, but she couldn't take her eyes off of the dead goat.

"The goat was an offering to... the demons."

Limping over to his sister, Joshua moved her away from the field while frowning, his shoulders slumped over in fear.

Joshua whispered something in his sister's ear, making her move away and stare at a fallen trunk from a tree. "We can't let him know. What if they hurt us?"

Father Roderick sighs and places his hands on their back to calm them down. "Look, I'm sorry for overreacting. But I have to know. Were you able to see their faces? Are they still here?"

He tried to stay calm, but this was important information that he needed to know the answer to.

"The demons got them." Joshua finally said, while holding Erise's hand for reassurance.

"And the demons left the deer behind..." Father Roderick concluded, and immediately got up and looked around in fear, grasping the two children's hands in preparation to run.

"Erise, Joshua, I want you to hold onto my hand and don't let go, understand? We're going to run back to the church. Stay calm and don't look back, put your faith into God."

The fraternal twins obeyed, bracing themselves for the task, their little legs wobbling a bit from standing in mud for so long.

Without even a warning, the priest leaves the umbrella behind and sprints away from the site of the ritual, unaware of the two unholy figures staring at them through the trees.

* * *

The days that followed were frightening, as there were countless reports of two horned-creatures being seen in the woods, and most of the townsfolk mistook them for a new species of animal or simply a cryptid.

People, campers mostly, were disappearing in the night with their bodies found nearby, ripped to nearly shreds and half-eaten, leading to numerous investigations of the whereabouts of the killer.

Erise and Joshua were no longer allowed alone without adult supervision from the attacks that have been going on, and because of this their days have become a lot more tedious and boring.

Now, Father Roderick was conducting his own investigation on the demons who have been unleashed in their tiny town of Kinsburg, but the five year olds didn't understand what they were, or why everyone was on edge.

But, there was also something else they couldn't understand.

Why the "demons" protected them from the cultists. All their lives, Erise and Joshua were told to never trust a demon or fall into the hands of the devil, but after what happened on that rainy day, the two children wondered who was really the malicious ones. Humans, or demons. After all, if demons were really terrible like the church says, then why did they save them from the cultists?

* * *

The two demons, seemingly a male and female, were birthed from the summoning circle in a painful cry, the rain falling down upon them beneath the trees.

The female demon outstretched her tattered red wings and her black horns ran to the side of her head in an almost ram-like fashion.

Her facial structure was that of a goddess and Erise couldn't help but be mesmerized by her appearance alone as she stared at her ruby red eyes.

The demon's long blonde hair was up in a side-swept french braid seemingly never getting wet, even as the rain fell down upon them.

She was well over seven feet tall, her clothes nothing more than a scantily clad beige dress.

As for the male, his horns were also black and large, however they grew away from his face and towards the sky in twists and turns.

His black hair was thick and slicked back, although his face was more pronounced and handsome.

With wings expanding, he flapped them twice, the weight of them creating a clapping sound that of thunder. If anything, he was around eight to nine feet tall, but only slightly taller than the female.

The demon wasn't staring at the cultists, oh no, he was staring through the trees, already knowing that the children saw the whole ordeal unfold. Joshua swallowed and shivered, grasping the hand of his sister and wondering if they were going to die.

The cultists were ecstatic, their voices whooping and their arms rising into the sky to embrace their unholy god.

Erise and Joshua watched from behind a tree trunk, rain drenching their hair and clothes. Erise kept tugging on Joshua's shirt to make him break out of his trance and leave, but he stayed put in disbelief.

Despite what the children originally thought, both the female and male demon were somewhat human looking, aside from the paleness of their skin.

It scared the two knowing that such powerful beings could walk among the earth with no problem at all.

"Felith and Samael, almighty and powerful demons, will you give us the honor of accepting our offering?" One of the cultists requested, their eyes not meeting with the devils.

Instead, the cultist dropped to their knees and clasped their hands together in mercy.

Felith chuckled, her hair swaying as she moved towards the sacrifice, the deer.

She poked it with her sharp nails, and her black eyes narrowed in ridicule.

"This? Why, it's nothing more than a sickly deer. Mostly likely close to death when you found it, I presume." Her voice was loud and low, booming as well, as if she fought with the sound of the rain hitting against the forest floor for the ability for the cultists to hear.

Some of them started taking a few steps back in order to stay away from the large and powerful demons.

Joshua and Erise winced as she spoke, and Erise tried to take a step back, ultimately losing her shoe in some quicksand.

Falling over as she tripped, the little girl started whimpering and tried to pull herself up.

"Erise! Shut up or you'll get us caught!" Joshua demanded, pressing his hand against her mouth. "I'm sorry! But my ankle-"

At their sudden outburst, the cultists immediately turned their hooded heads towards the source of the noise, finally realizing that Pidge and Joshua were watching them from the trees.

The leader, who was trying to make a good impression, defensively put his hands into the air and started walking towards the source of the noise. "It's alright. We won't hurt you."

Tears sprouted from Joshua's eyes, but due to the severity of the rainfall he didn't know if he was already crying, or if his face was wet from the rain.

Samael, the larger and more intense demon, hasn't said a thing throughout his entire time on earth.

Joshua looked up at the demon from afar and pleaded with him to help, albeit telepathically. He couldn't risk asking the demon to protect him and his sister. He had to stay quiet.

Suddenly, a shotgun was cocked by one of the cultists, then a warning shot. The two siblings put their hands against their ears from the noise, however the demons were unfazed.

"Come out right now, or I'll put this fucking bullet through your skull-"

"Oh, come now, you should not treat these children with such disrespect." Felith replied harshly, taking a step outside of the summoning circle.

Her heeled feet made contact with the forest floor, and yet her shoe didn't sink into the mud. Instead, she only seemed to hover.

"She is right." Samael finally replied, his voice much lower and gravelly. It made Joshua less afraid, somehow.

Samael looked into the trees and instantly locked eyes with Joshua, and Felith did the same by seemingly looking at Erise.

The cultist holding the gun was determined to leave no witnesses behind, then begun charging towards Joshua and Erise with the intent to kill.

With the gun raised, the cultist spotted the children and aimed.

"No, no! Leave us alone!" Joshua cried, falling back into the mud. Erise did the same, and her glasses cracked from the impact with the forest floor.

In an instant, the man was dragged to his knees and dropped the gun in silence, aside from his body creating a thud.

Everyone turned their heads towards Felith, who had complete and utter control over his body now.

Making not a sound, she used her dark, otherworldly magic to drag his body into the woods, never to be seen again.

Then, by simply raising a fist, she caused his internal organs to explode from the inside.

Black smoke swirled around her fist, and as quickly as she called upon her dark magic, it ended and she smirked.

"I believe that hurting children will not get on our good side, gentleman. What do you think, Samael? Shall I get rid of these cultists, while you check on the little ones?"

Samael said nothing but nodded and started walking out of the summoning circle against the approval of the cultists. "I will let you do that, Felith. The children will be my priority."

Felith shrugged with her hands on her hips, almost as if this was a game for her.

Starting to attack, Samael begun walking towards the children, and by the looks of it, he towered over them like a skyscraper.

His wings were folded against his back and his black eyes were unblinking. He seemed almost... overprotective.

Lowering his height, he offered a hand towards Erise and Joshua as Felith got rid of the cultists. "What are your names, little ones?"

Screams of pain and terror rang out, scaring away a few stray birds. Felith was laughing as she did so, her black hair swaying and her dress twirling.

Erise started hyperventilating and gripped her shirt from the smell of blood reaching her nostrils, and Samael tried his best to calm her down by caressing her wet hair.

"What is your name?"

The little girl looked up, lip quivering, green eyes red from salty tears, "Erise. Erise Yesate."

Humming, the demon slowly brought his clawed hand to her head.

She was watching and waiting in case he was going to kill her as well, but he simply pulled out some twigs and leaves, promptly causing the young girl to push him away as the sharp claws drew closer and closer to her scalp as he dug through her hair.

"Stay away from my sister, you... You big, uh..."

Erise's green eyes were squeezed shut in fear, and yet, Samael had freed her hair from any tangles and dirt, prompting the little girl to open one eye as the demon gave her a quick nod, as if signaling that he was done.

Joshua tried to look over Samael's large torso at what Felith was going to do to another nearby cultist, but was distracted by the demon smiling at him.

"And you." Samael grinned, caressing Joshua's bushy red hair.

The boy gulped as the demon asked, "What is your name?"

Twiddling his fingers together, he heartily replied, "Joshua Yesate. She and I are twins, well, fraternal twins. At least, that's what Father Roderick said."

Samael looked down at the crosses around their necks, a sneer coming to his lips almost immediately. "I see. You are children of God, I presume. How... quaint."

Felith laughed as the last of the cultists fell, hands running through her hair.

"Mm, that was just marvelous," she cooed, her voice low and soothing, "Oh, are they alright?"

She runs over to the kids almost as if she was floating, with her large wings flapping as she did so.

Erise's eyes light up at Felith's beauty, and for a moment they both forgot Felith had just slaughtered an entire group of men.

"Hello, I'm Erise." Erise says shyly, and a smile comes to her lips.

Felith tilts her head to her side and nods, her hand fixing Erise's glasses.

"Hello, little one... Erise. My, what a lovely name. I'm sure you hear people complimenting you all the time for being such a sweet girl, hm?"

Erise sticks her hand out and touches Felith's soft, delicate face, and the demon promptly blushes at Erise's sudden display of affection.

"Thank you for saving us, Ms. Felith."

At the gratefulness of the child, her black pools for eyes, seemingly shining with metallic particles, widened and a bigger smile formed on her face.

"You're very welcome, darling! And thank you for thanking me!"

The two girls shared a seemingly normal moment, and Joshua couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed by the whole thing.

There were real, living, breathing demons before them, and yet despite everything the church has claimed, they were actually quite kind, aside from murdering an entire group of people.

As Joshua tried to move, his leg locks up and he cries out while holding the wound.

There was blood there, seeping into the rain water and a stinging sensation ran up and down his knee.

Samael inspected it almost immediately, most likely thinking the injury was caused by a gunshot.

The demon placed her enormous hand over Joshua's leg, making sure there was no bullet.

Erise and Felith watched as the demon carefully wiped the blood away to get a closer look, but sighed in relief when realizing it was nothing more than a scrape, most likely caused by the young boy tripping and falling down earlier.

Samael interlocked his hands together and stared down at the children, his half lidded eyes locked mostly on Joshua.

"Once you get back to your place of residence, young Joshua, and young Erise, I want you to get cleaned up and fed by your guardians. That is not a request, that is an order."

Both Erise and Joshua shared looks in disbelief and stared up at the demons again, while also wiping away some stray rain water that managed to fall near their eyes.

Joshua was the next to speak up. "But, what about... you know? Possessing us? Making us speak words of the devil?"

Solemnly, Felith and Samael shared looks with one another, then meekly smiled.

Felith replied, "No, not you. Not children such as yourselves. After all, you have been baptized, have you not? The crosses on your necks protect you."

Erise instinctively grasps her own golden cross in reassurance, but says nothing.

She was still shaken up by the cultists almost killing them.

However, Samael quickly broke the silence.

"I am afraid Felith and I must leave. It is not safe for us, or you, to be in these woods." Samael said, looking back towards the deer.

Felith did the same and ran her hand through her damp hair.

The twins weren't afraid, not in the slightest. If anything, they were grateful that the demons helped, and were more than happy to see them on their way.

"Will we see you two again?" Erise asked hopefully, her grip on the cross getting tighter.

Felith smiled and whispered something in Erise's ear, prompting Joshua to protect his sister if necessary.

His hand formed a fist, and he was about to punch Felith in the head, when Samael grabbed his arm midair and laughed under his breath.

Almost immediately, Joshua started to struggle, but Samael held his arm in place and whispered into his ear as well, prompting the young boy to quit squirming.

Not in fear, but relief.

The demon said, "We will be with you in spirit, and protect you from the real demons of this world. However, we will not see one another again until you are much, much older."

Joshua and Samael locked eyes for a moment, but Samael stood up without another word.

Felith, who was dreading the thought of leaving the frail little girl, outstretched her hand and tried her best to get up without Erise begging for her to stay.

The demons, with their hair swaying in the wind by the storm, outstretched their wings and took off into the raining sky.

They suddenly disappeared into the clouds, leaving the twins alone in the woods again.

Confused and scared, Joshua and Erise grabbed each other by the hand and sprinted down the path to the church, not looking back whatsoever.


	2. Envy

"Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned." was a sentence uttered by the many visitors of Church Kinsburg following the recent string of attacks that took place in 1965 and beyond.

Despite everything, the attacks grew smaller with the coming changes to the growing town, and thus, ended altogether once the population grew too large.

Business chains were being built in and around the grocery stores of Kinsburg, large houses and apartment buildings were being constructed, and even an amusement park was being added to the quaint little town.

The children and teens, who thought Kinsburg was nothing more than a boring lumber town in the middle of the woods, were more than ecstatic knowing that so many new and exciting things were being built right before their eyes.

This did not stop the rumors of a murderer still being at large, but never found, however.

In fact, the population seemingly _grew _due to the bombardment of paranormal investigators and potential exorcists who wanted to gain information on how and why so many people saw the same monster in such a little town.

Father Roderick wasn't happy in the slightest knowing his reputation was on the line, and didn't want to have anything to do with the documentaries.

Almost everyday, someone would request a hearing with the fed-up priest in the hopes of gaining some kind of information, and they almost always had a camera with them.

Erise and Joshua confessed they saw the demons up close to a team of investigators to end up on the news, and told the investigators that they conversed with the demons as if they meant them no harm.

That was unacceptable, especially after everything they've been warned about meeting those _things_ from Hell.

The "cryptids", which the demons had come to be called, were given the name _Two Horned Beasts_by a group of ghost hunters who had, begrudgingly, came to the town and turned it into a hot spot for believers of the unknown and the magical. 

This was also the reason why Kinsburg was dubbed as the _Home of the Two Horned Beasts from Way Down Under_, which was included under the welcome sign when tourists drove in to sight-see.

The five missing cultists who had attacked Erise and Joshua had never returned, and yet missing person posters still went up around the city by the local police and their families in the hopes of getting them home.

Unfortunately for the cultists, their souls were not going to Heaven anytime soon, and their bodies were never going to be found.

The paranormal investigators were also what caused the investigations into the missing group of people to close down so quickly, and what caused Father Roderick to absolutely _despise _the younger generation, aside from the respectful type, who would protect and serve others rather than lie and steal.

During the 1970's, there was a large influx of hippies and flower children who would come to Church Kinsburg, mostly to ask if the rumors about whether or not the Two Horned Beasts were real.

By that time, Erise and Joshua were almost teenagers, but were still children nonetheless. 

Father Roderick could deal with flower children, as he raised Joshua and Erise to adolescence.

They were kind and quiet, and even seemed pleasant to be around when they conversed with him about their daily life.

While Father Roderick could not have children of his own due to his faith, he would be forever grateful to Erise and Joshua for blessing him with the ability to be the father he never got to be.

Joshua and Erise would play with the flower children, and the twins would be their "guardians" of sorts, in order to keep them safe.

Flower children were clean, and understood that love was sacred and should only be shared with someone you trust.

Father Roderick would send them on their way, but he was nicer to a flower child who had run away from home and tried to decline them a week-long room and board as nicely as he could, then send them on their way with good tidings and full bellies. 

The hippies were much harder to tolerate.

When hippies came to the small town of Kinsburg, they continuously spouted nonsense that the Two Horned Beasts were aliens sent from another world to destroy the human race.

Joshua got a kick out of it, and would laugh and joke with some of them to gain some sort of mutual trust.

Father Roderick obviously wasn't happy about it in the slightest, but in the coming years he was slowly becoming hard-headed due to old age.

Joshua was being tutored to be the next priest of Kinsburg, but even then, he was still a rambunctious wild-child who put his own happiness before the happiness of his peers and the adults around him.

For days at a time, Joshua would be forced to take a break from home-schooling to study the bible, and unfortunately, memorize all ten commandments.

It was from there that the two fraternal twins were often separated, and Erise studied textbooks and was showered with wonderful tutors by the nuns, but they were lonely without one another.

It was a basic routine for Joshua and Erise, but it just felt wrong not to be near one another.

Joshua was to be tutored by Father Roderick, and Erise was to be tutored by Sister Elizabeth and the nuns.

Unfortunately for Joshua, he was expected of Father Roderick to become the priest of the church once he grew up, and that he take his place.

Erise was given in a choice by the nuns about her future. Whether she wanted to go to college, settle down and raise a family, move away, or even become a nun of her own volition, Sister Elizabeth and the other young girls were adamant on allowing Erise to choose her own path, which she was incredibly grateful for.

On the weekends, all four of them tried to make time for each other, and in the end, were happy with their lives nonetheless.

As for Erise, she was still as timid and shy as ever, so when the hippies arrived, she instinctively hid behind Father Roderick, who, in turn, shielded her from the filth that was the human being as they asked what her name was.

It was not anything too personal, after all, some hippies simply asked for her name out of politeness, to which Father Roderick would cave and allow Erise to mumble her name in front of a stranger.

Unfortunately, Father Roderick could not always be there protect her.

* * *

Erise was old enough to understand that she must go out with adult supervision, or in groups of two in case something were to happen to a young girl such as herself.

She wasn't physically assaulted, none of that, because she knew better than to stay around in an unsafe environment.

A group of hippies were standing outside a grocery store, smoking and sharing pot from a single cigarette. 

Erise's nose scrunched up from the smell alone and tried not to make direct eye contact as she attempted to go shopping.

Her brother had caught a cold and needed medicine, which she wanted to buy on her own.

As she approached the doors which needed to be manually opened, she was stopped by one of the bearded hippies.

"Where are you going so quickly without saying hello, sweetheart?" He asks with somewhat of a smirk.

Paying them no mind, Erise attempted to open the door and felt her heart start to palpitate in fear.

All three of them got closer and blocked her way into the store. She could feel their eyes on her, even if she was only a _child._

Father Roderick wasn't there to protect her, nor her brother.

She was alone to fight her own battle, as no one else was around.

Erise's eyes narrowed and she huffed, all while taking a step back.

Her hands were balled into a fist in case she needed to fight them off.

"What's with that looking you're giving us? We just wanna know what you're doing." A clean-shaven one replied.

"None of your business. Now please, let me through-" As she attempted to push by them, one of them cut her off.

"Hey, wait a minute! Charlie, isn't this the kid who lives in the church?"

"You mean the one who never speaks and hides behind the priest? What about her?"

"Her name is Erise, and she was one of the few who saw the Two Horned Beasts when she was younger. She said so on one of the news reports awhile back."

As Erise listened to them have a conversation, her eyes involuntarily widened when they mentioned the demons she had met when she was closer to the age of a toddler rather than a teenager.

Even after all these years, she could remember just how mesmerizing, terrifying, and incredible the demons looked, as if she saw them only yesterday.

_"Felith was so kind," _she thought, _"I miss her so much. Even Samael."_

"...What about it?" She asks, feeling their gaze on her.

Her mind was simultaneously moving to the task at hand, and to the memories of the demons who promised they would return sooner or later, and she gulps. 

"Well," the long-haired one starts, "There have been countless reports about the Two Horned Beasts roaming the area. If you got to see them as a little girl and live long enough to tell the tale, maybe the four of us could go into the woods and conduct our own little investigation-"

Erise looked physically disgusted by what they were suggesting and her mouth curled into a sneer.

As her body tensed up and her hand tightened into a fist, she made absolutely sure to stare them in the eye to convey her revulsion.

She wasn't stupid, and even if she hasn't made contact with Felith in years, Erise knew Felith would attack them before they even had a chance to lay a finger on Erise.

_If _Felith was still in Kinsburg, of course.

"No. Ask someone else, not me." Erise said, then turned on her heels and left the store without her brother's medicine as the hippies laughed.

Feeling humiliated, Erise hiccups and feels her bottom lip begin to quiver, and a tear rolls down her cheek.

* * *

When Erise returned to the church without medicine, and with glassy eyes, suggesting she had been crying on her way home, Father Roderick and Sister Elizabeth both took a break from tending to Joshua and consoled Erise as she broke down into a sob in her bedroom opposite of Joshua's.

Despite being ill, her brother could probably hear her crying, but he was too exhausted to get up and check on her.

If he could, he'd confront those men in a heartbeat and make them pay for making his sister cry, but as he laid there in his bed, barely able to move, Joshua knew he couldn't always fight her battles.

In Erise's adorable bedroom, Sister Elizabeth led her onto the bed and sat at her side, just allowing her to sob.

Sister Elizabeth rubbed her back in a soothing manner and allowed Father Roderick to grab Erise some water to help calm her down.

"My dear child, what has you so frightened?" Sister Elizabeth asks, watching Erise wipe her tears away.

"N-No, it's fine. Really, I'm alright, Sister Elizabeth." 

The nun knew that Erise was not alright, and questioned her further.

"...You smell of pot, Erise. What happened?"

Erise's eyes widened and her mouth went agape, realizing those degenerates made her smell like smoke.

She quickly told Sister Elizabeth the truth.

"I wasn't doing anything you're suggesting! Honest, Sister Elizabeth! Those hippies that came into town cornered me against the wall at the grocery store..."

Just as she finished her confession, Father Roderick returned with a glass of water and his eyes softened.

"Tell us more, child." He requested, handing her the glass.

Taking a sip of the much needed drink, she sniffles and stares at the spotless hard-wood floor. "They asked if I knew what the Two Horned Beasts looked like... and requested that I go into... into the woods with them; alone."

Father Roderick's eyes narrowed and his eyebrows furrowed together in thought. "And what did you tell them?"

"I told them no. Just as you requested of me. But, I don't want them coming around me, not after what they said. If it's not too much to ask, c-can you... do something about them?" Erise couldn't help but feel like Felith was listening to her right at this very moment.

Erise wanted those three men to disappear, and Felith could make it happen with a snap of her finger.

Father Roderick and Sister Elizabeth looked each other in the eyes and tried to think of what to say.

Sister Elizabeth said, "Why don't you take a well deserved nap and Father Roderick will deal with them?"

Complying, Erise put the glass of water on her bedside table and got into bed.

"...Okay. And I apologize for not buying the medicine, even though Joshua needs it."

Sister Elizabeth had already left the room to perform her duties around the monastery once Erise spoke up, and Father Roderick was just in the middle of leaving. 

"Erise, there's no need to apologize. It wasn't your fault." As he came to the foot of her bed, he sat on the edge and smiled. 

Erise shook her head and buried her face into the light blue duvet, and her bobbed hair swayed as she did so. 

"If I had just gathered the courage to ignore them and walk away, it would have spared me the embarrassment! Joshua was have his medicine and I wouldn't be so flustered right now! Father Roderick, you must understand that I-"

Despite her complaining, Father Roderick immediately burst into laughter and slapped his knee, causing Erise to become even more upset after realizing he was taunting her.

All he wanted to do was take her mind off the interaction and lighten up the mood, even if he couldn't come up with a proper way to do it.

He was her guardian, after all.

Erise whined and buried herself further into the blanket, causing her voice to become muffled and she looked momentarily disconcerted from the situation at hand.

"You see?" She yelped, "You're laughing at my failure! Oh, I should have just stayed home to spare me the excitement."

"Erise, Erise, I'm sorry, and believe me, I'll make sure those hippies get kicked out of Kinsburg as soon as possible, but you shouldn't torture yourself. It was their fault for interacting with you, especially since they made you uncomfortable." Father Roderick said in between laughing fits, then pats her back which was hidden under the duvet.

Her body jerks when she feels the sudden contact and her head peeks out from under the covers. 

Their emerald green eyes lock for a moment, and Father Roderick finally stops laughing once she begins to smile.

Running his hand through her fluffy black hair, she finally calms down and properly lays her head on the pillow so that she can get some rest.

He continues, "Never blame yourself for someone else's wrongdoing."

"Thank you, Father Roderick. I'll take what you said to heart." Erise says, snuggling further into the blankets.

As the priest stands to his feet and brushes off his cassock, he nods and begins to walk into the hallway. "Of course. You are my adopted daughter, after all. Unfortunately, I must go to the pharmacy and pick up medicine for Joshua. Will you be alright on your own?"

All she can do is nod and close her eyes to ensure no tears fall down her cheeks.

She hesitates and notices her hands are twiddling together under the covers. "...I love you, Father."

The priest freezes for a moment and his eyes widen in surprise and bewilderment. His grip tightens on the door handle, and he does not turn around. 

All he can do is clear his throat to speak, and even that was a hassle. Father Roderick accidentally caught Joshua's illness from being around him, but he didn't want to admit that fact.

"I love you too, Erise. Sleep well, young one."

Erise never called him Father before, as she always continued it with a Roderick. Not even as a child had she mistakenly called him Dad or Father.

As he closed the door to Erise's room, he heard Joshua struggling to cough in his bedroom from being ill. These two children were handfuls, but it was nothing Father Roderick couldn't handle.

Straightening his back and readjusting his blonde hair, the priest continues down the hallway of the monastery which was converted into living quarters for Joshua, Erise, and the nuns.

Joshua had always ever called Father Roderick "Sir" or "Father". Perhaps it was because of Joshua's straightforwardness, or quite possibly, he didn't bother to think of him as a father figure at all.

He wouldn't dare admit that he thought of them as his own flesh and blood to others, of course, but he could convey his appreciation for the twins by showering them in gifts and morals when he isn't standing at the altar reciting psalms from the bible.

One thing was certain; Father Roderick will protect his children, his friends, his family, and complete strangers from the hardships in this cruel, cruel world.

But the unworthy could go down just as heartily if the universe deemed it so.

* * *

_~~~25 years later, circa 1990~~~_

Years turned to decades, and with time, came age.

Erise Yesate and Joshua Yesate, both thirty years old now, had blossomed and grew into fine adults that Father Roderick and Sister Elizabeth were extremely proud of.

When Joshua turned twenty-five in 1985, Father Roderick stepped down as priest of Church Kinsburg and gave Joshua the title of Father Joshua, which Kinsburg would look up to in their time of prayer and sabbath. 

Although nervous and confused at first, Father Joshua took his responsibilities very seriously and tried his best remember his training to be the next priest.

As for Father Roderick, who goes by Roderick now, and he is enjoying retirement by spending time in his home he bought not long after Joshua, Erise, and Sister Elizabeth went their separate ways.

Visiting the church on Sundays, Roderick visits his adopted son regularly and praises him for all his wonderful hard-work.

Sister Elizabeth is still in the monastery, and she always makes absolutely certain to visit Erise, Joshua, and Roderick when she has time.

Unfortunately for her, the monastery has gotten a lot less lively since everyone left, but she says she makes the most of it, and that is what matters to her.

Erise on the other hand, bought a used book store and is currently working there by providing Kinsburg with books either distributed to her via friends and family, or bought in other stores and sold in the shop. 

The store itself has that musty ambiance of flair and mystery, despite being nothing more than a safe-haven for books with yellowing pages.

If she were to ascend the flight of stairs, that is where she lives with her two cats; Josie and Matilda.

Josie is a tortoise-shell Scottish Fold and Matilda is a black Pixie Bob, which Erise loves dearly.

But there's something missing with her life, just as Joshua has complained about as well.

True, they were both happy, but the two siblings were not... lively in a general term.

While it was true they have achieved the praise of their elders, they did not feel pleased with the lives they were living.

All his life, Joshua was told that he was to become a priest, and he accepted it thinking the inevitable time where he must be a priest will come. But now that he was a priest, it _scared _him. 

The town of Kinsburg looked up to him, and hoped he would follow in Roderick's footsteps, and he tried.

Five years later, and he is still trying.

As for Erise, she wanted more with her life, but was never given a specific purpose. She could do anything and learn whatever she wanted, but without direction, she was lost.

Erise missed Felith, and Joshua missed Samael, but the probability of the demons returning to Kinsburg was very low, especially since there was a population boom.

Despite their differences, Erise and Joshua had two things in common.

They envied one another, and they would do anything to see Felith and Samael again.


End file.
